A space of pride: Lou Cooper ’24, keynote speaker at this year’s Lavender Graduate Celebration in De La Salle Hall, says they found “my people” at Saint Mary’s. “The love and camaraderie and support will be what I take away from being here.” / Photo by Ashley Rose

At the 17th Annual Lavender Graduate Celebration, LGBTQIA+ Students Celebrate Being ‘Unapologetically Who We Are’

On May 16, SMC joined hundreds of institutions across the country in honoring its queer and transgender graduates. Acceptance is not a given, acknowledged keynote speaker Lou Cooper ’24. “That’s why celebrations like this are so important.”

by Hayden Royster, Staff Writer | May 20, 2024

For Lou Cooper ’24, the keynote speaker at the Intercultural Center's 17th annual Lavender Graduate Celebration on May 16, being a transgender person in the world can often require “a thick skin and a hearty dose of patience.”

Cooper—a dancer and actor majoring in Dance: Choreography and Performance and the recipient of this year’s Louis LeFevre Award—transferred to SMC two years ago. There have been times, they told those gathered in De La Salle Hall, when they have been shocked by how fervent anti-trans and anti-queer sentiments still are.

“That’s why celebrations like this are so important,” Copper said, glancing over at their graduating peers. “While this is a struggle, it’s a beautiful struggle.… Every day, we make change here at Saint Mary's and throughout our wider communities, by being unapologetically who we are.”

Since 2006, the Lavender Graduate Celebration has given LGBTQIA+ Gaels the space to celebrate how far they have come: academically, of course, but also personally. Saint Mary’s is among more than 500 colleges, universities, and high schools nationwide to put on a Lavender Celebration.

Group shoot of 2024 Lavender Graduates — A community of changemakers: Thirty LGBTQIA+ Gaels received their stoles at this year's Lavender Graduate Celebration. / Photo by Ashley Rose

At this year’s event, 30 Gaels received graduation lavender stoles, while friends and family, professors and mentors looked on in pride. Awards were presented, too: Jose Feito, the Psychology faculty member who was recently recognized as Saint Mary’s Professor of the Year, was honored with the Paul Giurlanda Award, presented annually to a staff or faculty member with an exceptional commitment to LGBTQIA+ Gaels. (The award is named after the beloved Professor of Theology who served as the first advisor for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance. In December 2023, Giurlanda retired after 45 years at the College.)

Ultimately, Cooper emphasized in their keynote address, the Lavender Celebration is about community. Transferring to Saint Mary’s was nervewracking, they said, “but when I did find my people, the love and camaraderie and support will be what I take away from being here.”